Kenai man arraigned on child pornography charges

A Kenai man already in jail since last March was arraigned in Kenai Superior Court Tuesday for possession and distribution of child pornography.

Jesse Lee Carlson, 33, was indicted by a grand jury on four charges of possessing child pornography and two charges of distribution.

Possession of child pornography is a class C felony and carries with it a maximum five-year jail sentence and $50,000 fine on each count. Distribution of child pornography is a class B felony with a maximum of 10 years in prison and $100,000 fine on each count.

At his arraignment at the Kenai Courthouse Tuesday, Judge Anna Moran entered a not guilty plea on Carlson’s behalf and deemed him eligible for a public defender. His next court appearance is Feb. 24.

According to the indictment files issued January 10, Carlson knowingly possessed or accessed on a computer sexual material with a minor on March 10, 2013.

Two days later, Carlson was arrested on theft and burglary charges. Four charges of theft, a burglary charge and two charges of forgery committed last January are valued at more than $25,000, according to court documents. His defense attorney is William Walton from Public Advocacy. The case is still open and Carlson is facing 6 to 10 years in prison.

Carlson is currently awaiting trail at Wildwood Pre-trial facility.

An Anchor Point man was arraigned at Kenai Superior Court Tuesday on charges of sexual abuse of two minors under the age of 13.

Daniel Hinsberger, 54, is being charged with five counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and two charges of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree.

Public defender Josh Cooley entered a not guilty plea to all charges for Hinsberger.

According to the Alaska State Troopers affidavit, on Dec. 23, 2013, the victim’s mother reported the alleged rape after the daughter disclosed that her uncle, Hinsberger, had sexually assaulted her the last time she visited.

Upon further evaluation at South Peninsula Hospital and after an interview with Child Advocacy Center at Haven House in Homer, it was revealed that Hinsberer not only sexually assaulted the 6-year-old victim on numerous occasions since 2011, but he also sexually abused his 5-year-old daughter.

The affidavit states Hinsberger lived with one woman and two minor children (ages 5 and 2) and was left alone with the children for extended periods of time. The victim’s mother left her daughter with Hinsberger to babysit because her daughter’s cousins were there to play with, according to the affidavit.

For the protection of the victims, the names of the mother and children will not be disclosed.

During an interview with Hinsberger’s daughter, the victim said her father told her not to say anything about them because “he would have to go to jail at the yellow castle.”

Hinsberger, who was arrested Jan. 3, is being held at Wildwood Pretrial Facility. The five counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree are unclassified felonies. The two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree are class B felonies.